Rubber futures and physical rubber markets in Asia retreated slightly from an earlier week even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Japanese Nikkei indexes showed very significant improvement, and the Japanese yen weakened against the dollar. In the meantime, non-oil grade SBR1502 in South East Asia was traded in the range of US$1,850 to US$1,900 per ton.
In addition to that, the Chinese manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.8 in May from 50.4 in April, said the National Bureau of Statistics. Auto sales in the U.S. rose to 1,608,693 units or up 11.4% in May from the same month last year, reported by Autodata Corporation. Auto sales in India also showed doubled digit sales growth in May, according to The Economic Times of India.
It can be concluded that weak rubber market sentiments still weigh on natural rubber prices in the region.
– IRCo
